101/1001 update

[dubdobdee]

ADVENTURES:
1. Go on two-week solo road-trip to France
2. Come back in one piece
3. Plan 2008 Adventure <--- it is MOROCCO (via spain) it is in plan it is in oct-nov
4. Execute 2008 Adventure

ARCHIVES
5. Cull Records/CDs <-- SOONER IS BETTER THAN LATER would be part of this :(
6. Cull "stuff I one day plan to read" haha
7. Read rest of "stuff I one day plan to read" hahahaaagh

BOOKS
8. Finish Tristram Shandy <-- no further
9. Finish KAPITAL (all three vols) <--- no further
10. Read all books Vick as given you <--- keep getting stuck in the FLOUNDER
11. Read all books T has given you <--- way down queue
12. Read all books Sistrah Becky has given you <--- this is some novel i ph34r
13. Read SR's PoPu book <--- will be torn swiftly asunder as part of my HISTORY OF ROCKWRITE book
14. Read BW's D3r3k B4il3y book <-- ditto, tho probably i will be kinder

CAREER
15 negotiate payrise <--- solution = take on more work
16. Find new agent <--- found and he was eager then vanished
17. Kickstart media consultant idea <--- first workshop 5 june!!
18. Decide what new job direction shd be
19. Recontact academic depts re book fvck em
20. Get new job kinda sorta in bud!
21. Realise academic outreach <-- i am zaggin to zig on this, via 17

FINANCES and ADMIN
22. Complete bank transfer, sort out stupid overpayments and costs <-- STILL NOT SORTED I AM 1 X CLOWN W.MONEY
23. Take bags of coins to bank <-- only a million pennies to go
24. Do taxes every week for six months <--- haha
25. Do taxes every week for a year
26. Sort dad's taxes <-- try and do in next three weeks (once slugs is over)
27. LEARN EBAY and sell stuff on it
28. Make will :(

FLAT
29. Springclean flat <-- it is once more spring (and past)
30. Re-decorate
31. Sort out gutter
32. Sort out roofleak
33. New bathroom <-- i just ordered a new unbroken toilet! this is step one
34. New kitchen

FOOD
35. while in france eat something you never ate before
36. Re-sort spices, replace all now as dust <-- halfway through
37. Write to aunt for granny's recipes <-- written but we decided i should VISIT to pick em up
38. Make flourless cake
39. Attempt terrine
40. Make bread
41. Complete empirical research on the organ eatability league table
42. Eat (and understand) 1 x new fish every week for a month <-- must get back on this
43. Eat (and understand) 1 x new fish every week for 3 months

GADGETS
44. Replace record player
45. New computer
46. New printer
47. Re-open electronic DL faucets
48. Scanner
49. Digital camera

KNOWLEDGE
50. Learn how cars work
51. Learn how economics works (poss via magnus's dad's friend's book)
52. Re-learn how French works

PIANO:
53. Find piano teacher <-- i have her number but haven't called
54. Complete short programme <-- not doing badly here, must update kitan on the keys
55. Complete long programme
56. Get hammerfelts and strings redone

PIRATE PROJECT
57. Dubdobdee's contribution <-- advancing a little
58. Vick's contribution <-- unsure, she has many distractions
59. Joint contribution <-- way off

RADIO <--- blimey, who knew this would be the triumph!
60. Contact Mr Resonance
61. Review previous LOLLARDS series in ref series 2
62. Pitch SF programme w.Eli

SELF
63. Dental checkup <-- good idea
64. General medical checkup <-- ditto
65. Reach 12 stone <-- summer's the time! beer's the crime :'(
66. Stay c.12 stone for a month
67. Stay c.12 stone for six months
68. Get back on YOGA TRAIN
69. Swim at least 2 x week for a month
70. Swim at least 2 x week for a year
71. Exercise bike at least 3 x week for a month
72. Exercise bike at least 3 x week for a year
73. Weights at least 4 x week for a month
74. Weights at least 4 x week for a year
75. Get actual real bicycle <--- u&k
76. join gym

SOCIAL
77. Be a DJ
78. Contact T's friend RR
79. Get back in contact with DUNCAN
80. Have a meal with GE
81. Have a drink w.G once a fortnight for six months <-- he has new gf so this is not urgent really
82. Have a meal w.RS once a fortnight for six months
83. Visit all aunts and uncles

WINDOW GARDEN:
84. Weed and throw out dead herbs
85. Plant for next year (2008)

WRITING
86. complete essay for f!lm qu4rterly
87. re-pitch "why are the left such chumps abt the charts?" <-- who the fuck to?
88. place "l*c s*nte" review <-- EPIC FAIL, am sad abt this
89. complete agatha project for FT <-- got distracted
90. complete daleks 3-4 <-- these are the short ones
91. complete dalek 5 <-- am back on this
92. Amy Robot
93. post to RFN 1xweek for 1xmonths <-- is RFN dead?
94. post to RFN 1xweek for 6xmonths
95. update and correct stone lanes entries
96. restart TEACH MARK S A LESSON <-- is ilx dead?
97. complete TEACH MARK S A LESSON
98. Resume wiretapper polls
99. Write up results of wiretapper analysis
100. finish music and technology book

1000001
101. 101 new things for next 1001 days!

original here, complete with explanatory links

Comments

[atommickbrane.livejournal.com]

Re fish: I mean to do this one too. What ACTUALLY happens is that I stand in front of the fish section in Morrisons (not the fish counter! TOO SCARY) and wibble for about 15 minutes, pick up and look at mackerel/trout etc, then think OH GOD I AM SO CONFUSED I DO NOT KNOW and buy a tin of mackerel in brine, IF ANYTHING.

I am so useless.

But I did buy some frozen RAW KING PRAWNS the other day! I er, guess I will... thaw them... and... put them in a stir fry?! Or... GRILL?! argh I don't know. What IS a prawn. A shrimp. Suuurrrimp. I am also sus as "raw" prawns seem to need exactly the same cooking time as "cooked" prawns! WHAT! WHY! WAH!

[carsmilesteve.livejournal.com]

well basically the "cooking" time for pink prawns is rly warming up time, you can eat the out of the (non-frozen) packet if you want.

grey prawns are cooked when they go pink which, in our safety-obsessed times, approx equals warming up time of pink prawns. i wouldn't eat them out of the packet though.

i am *still* pretty rub with fish i must say, TROUT is peasy though, esp if Wm. Morrisong has already put flavoured butter/rosemary etc inside it for you. just bung in oven for c. 20 mins, even comes off teh bones dead easy.

[atommickbrane.livejournal.com]

But... what do you eat with different types of fish? Do you fry? Grill? With some you eat the bones and some you don't! And they taste different and how do you know which is nice and how do you not get THE SICKNESS from them and-and-and *wibble*? And are they good if they are pink or should they be grey or should they be white?

Frankly my deres I probably couldn't tell the difference between cod, haddock, plaice, skate etc, I suspect I may have had some of them battered to death and they've been tasty... I don't think I have ever had trout, it makes me think of... streams... and reeds... and SWEET NATURE which I'm sorry to say I do not associate with edibleness, like NETTLE SOUP (which I have never had either but I HAVE had nettle TEA! and it was yuck SHOCK ME).

[atommickbrane.livejournal.com]

And never mind THE SKIN issue!
And scales!
And guts!

I think the only way I will probably get to grips with this is to don some WADERS and GO FISH.

[carsmilesteve.livejournal.com]

certainly anything from the fish shelf will be scaled and gutted, even if it still has tail and/or head.

the skin is THE BEST PART obv.

[atommickbrane.livejournal.com]

Is it, is it REALLY though, is it.

Fish also brings in the same problem I have with the meat counter at the supermarket (never MIND a butchers or a fishmongers all of which I am TERRIFIED of, I am even scared of delis) because I have 0 clue what to ask for and what the 'monger or butcher will ACTUALLY do, I mean do I ask for "a fillet of SOMETHING" or "200g of trout" and then I will have to say what bit and bones or not bones and WHAAA I dunno! Same for cuts of meat. Yes I'm aware this is useless , yes I am a bit embrassed at rubbishness but very much doubt I will do anything about it unless anyone holds my hand through the process and then takes me to the pub afterwards whilst I clutch my "tailored order" of fish and/or meat and pats my back as I hyperventilate

[carsmilesteve.livejournal.com]

hmmm, buying flesh and then going to the pub you sa? i'm sure i can find someone to help you with that.

(sorry mark, this isn't helping with your 101 things is it?)

[atommickbrane.livejournal.com]

And all the f-d about freshness! How do you know if it is fresh or not! I bought a daikon the other day which I thought was in perfectly reasonable order but the man told me to put it back and get a fresh one so I picked up the next one which looked EXACTLY THE SAME and FELT exactly the same, was he just taking the mickey out of me? And this is for a harmless RADISH, never mind a RED ALERT FISHY... (red snapper)?

Bah I think I will just go vegan for a week again, this has stressed me out!

[carsmilesteve.livejournal.com]

well there is quite a big line between "freshness" and "will make you poorly". a not Perfectly Fresh mackerel/trout etc will still be pretty nommy, just not *quite* as nommy as if you were sat on padstow habour eating it fresh off the boat. i think pursuit of freshness is a tad over-rated.

having said that almost ALL the fish down borough on saturday looked TEH SUPER YUM.

[atommickbrane.livejournal.com]

Actually, this has made me fancy fried whitebait... or... SCAMPI!!!

Maybe I will get some scampi from Iceland tonight, that is much easier, you go to the freezer, get out a bag, cook it, NO INTERACTION WITH ANYONE unless the guy at the till has a chat with you, ah, hassle free... :O

(IS scampi battered prawns? suurrriimppp? maybe I could make my own. I could get some tempura batter! Or something!)

[carsmilesteve.livejournal.com]

good scampi is battered prawns, bad scampi is battered prawn-based shapes...

whitebait, of course, is one of the few things where bones are mandatory and you don't have to worry about scales or guts ;)

nomnom prawn tempura!!!!

[dubdobdee.livejournal.com]

war of the whitebait eyes!

[atommickbrane.livejournal.com]

As long as it comes in a basket it could be essence of prawn twizzler :D

I feel very positive about whitebait even though I'm not sure if I've ever even eaten it, it must be like a race memory or sthg.

Stuff I want to do with prawns = risotto and PAELLA but that needs even MORE seafood (luckily Sainsburys do a prepackaged "mixed seafood medley"!! which I am plannin' on gettin' for this) (I also need chorizo).

I am enjoying this chat and flail about fishy a great deal! *kicks legs*

[carsmilesteve.livejournal.com]

everyone needs chorizo :)

BUNNY also goes well in paella.

i am making SPARAGUS RISOTTO tonight nom x 20.

[dubdobdee.livejournal.com]

a decent fish shop or counter won't sell you unfresh fish -- more than their rep is worth ect ect, they'll spit as they cut if it;s wrong and just chuck it

(so all you have to do is find a decent fish shop or counter! sorted!)

[dubdobdee.livejournal.com]

er spot not spit (unless yr in the rly EASTY end of end)

[carsmilesteve.livejournal.com]

haha, i thought this was some sort of good luck thing. if they cut into an fish and it is bad, they shall SPIT and start again.

[carsmilesteve.livejournal.com]

although they taste different, they don't taste *that* different, they all taste pretty, y'know, fishy, eg all white fish tastes pretty coddy, all oily fish taste pretty mackerelly etcetc.

there are very few that you eat the bones of rly, unless you are barnet_ape...

[atommickbrane.livejournal.com]

Mackerel inna tin tastes different from sardines inna tin, I have decided now that I think I prefer the MACKEREL. I am frankly just pleased I can even bear contemplating opening a tin of fishy again after the Typhoid Incident.

You eat the bones of kippers, right? NOT THAT I AM EVER EATING KIPPERS EVER AGAIN EVER EVER *shudders and feels sick at thought*

[jauntyemma.livejournal.com]

you don't HAVE to eat the bones - some fish are bigger than others (obv) and you don't want to choke yourself innit.

Our fishmonger is nice but they don't label the fish so I go in, point at something and say 'is that sea bass / sardines etc? well I will have 2, filleted pls'. Once I thought herrings were sardines. OH THE EMBARASSMENT.

generally good with fish - salsa verde, just some olive oil with various tasty stuff eg capers, green herbs, mustard, lemon juice / vinegar whizzed up in blender (or chuck in finely chopped). V nice with salmon / tuna steaks. Sea bass I do with chorizo, tomatoes & olives. Lots of white fish are good 'en papillote'.

[dubdobdee.livejournal.com]

yes my fish project is "get my head round all difft types of fish evar and how you eat em" -- viz mackrel is VERY oily so just eating it grilled won't work probbly

part of the problem here is my best local fish place is run by a very nice turkish woman who doesn't know the english names of any fish

[carsmilesteve.livejournal.com]

i haf teh Grumpy Rick Stein fish book, which tells you a lot about This Sort Of Thing. Admittedly i think i've cooked c. 3 things out of it ever...

[dubdobdee.livejournal.com]

yeah i've got a sophie grigson which has TMI abt "fishes of the world and their exotic habitats" really* -- it's not very sensibly organised for absorbing all the info anyway tho it has nice recipes and i've done several, alsi is source of spicy tom ketjap which i love

*also : like one tiny para on snapper which in its many shapes and forms take up 99.9% of all fish counters in the east end

[koganbot]

For fish filets.

Preheat oven to 450 Fahrenheit (approx. 232 Celsius), put fish filets into oven cook about 8 to 11 minutes, less if the filets are skinny, more if the filets are thick. Take out of oven, season to taste (pepper or parsley or butter or lemon or whatever) or stick between two slices of bread with mayonnaise and lettuce. Experiment on different types of fish to see which taste you like. (Of cheap fishes, I like Pollock and don't like Tilapia or Catfish.)

[koganbot]

87. re-pitch "why are the left such chumps abt the charts?" <-- who the fuck to?

U.S. mags and/or Websites

In These Times, Daily Kos, The Nation, Z magazine, New York Review Of Books, Partisan Review, CounterPunch, Salon, Slate, The New Yorker, Mother Jones, Harper's, The Atlantic Monthly, The Progressive, International Socialist Review, Monthly Review

These are U.S. mags or Websites. You need some place that will allow you go sufficiently long and won't be fazed by analogic-style writing and won't fuck with your thesis. I don't know which of these would actually work for you, since there are some I've rarely or not recently looked at (or in the case of the last three, never), and I don't know if all do much in the way of cultural coverage. Pay would probably be nominal, except for Atlantic-Harper's-New Yorker. But it seems to me that on the basis of the title alone - "why are the left such chumps abt the charts?" - a lot of these magazines would be thrilled to have the piece, at least initially (until they find out that your critical ideas are actual critical ideas). I did look at In These Times recently and my feeling was "Not as bad as I'd feared," though with lines such as "Unlike Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera, Beyonce can actually sing." (That was from memory, so I don't recall if it was Britney and Xtina who were the negative reference points; if not them, a couple of people like them.) Probably these all have Websites, if you want to take a look.

[dubdobdee.livejournal.com]

(new y0rker tried and nogo -- s4sh4 fj and alex r0ss do all music stuff between em sadly, tho s4sh4 wz nice abt the idea and seems pro me)

[dubdobdee.livejournal.com]

essentially dalek5 and chump and the rockwrite project are all aspects of the same project anyway -- i kinda just need to light into one to get them all upo and running

[koganbot]

Well, you may have to resign yourself to writing for someone who won't pay more than token pennies (or in subway tokens). So the questions would be: (1) is the mag likely to go out of business before the piece gets published, (2) will it let you write the piece you want, (3) will it reach some of the readers you want (i.e., leftist chumps who aren't irrevocably committed to remaining chumps).

I read that Kelefa Sanneh is going to start writing for the New Yorker, though I also read that it'll be on "cultural issues," so from what you say above I'm guessing he'll not be addressing music straightup. (As a staff reviewer for the New York Times Kelefa whomped any other daily music reviewer I'd ever read in my life.)

[koganbot]

I assume you've asked Luc for advice on this. If not, you should.

(Btw, I met Derek Krissoff on Saturday - he and his wife blew through Colorado on a whirlwhind vacation. I might ask him if he knows of any publications that might be amenable.)

[dubdobdee.livejournal.com]

i haven't actually, bcz if you recall the jump-off point for my pitch was luc's own book -- when slugs8 is done and dusted on thur i will get all my dux in a row on this stupid many-lensed project

today i am mostly putting of pennies in cashbags :\

[koganbot]

Wait, I thought the jump off for the piece was my book, and Luc's was just an add-on a year or so later. In any event, neither of us is the jump now: the basic idea is "Why Are The Left Such Chumps About The Charts?" w/ me and Luc (and Tom and Lex etc.) as examples of how not to be chumps.

[dubdobdee.livejournal.com]

ok original original pitch jump-off wz indeed yr book -- that wz for nlr two years ago (who never even bothered replyin)

regussied pitch last year, to lrb and -- implicitly -- the n3w y0rker had luc's book as its timely hook

(in both cases part of the pitch was also 1967 = 40 years from pepper and the "invention of rockwrite")

yr right probbly that the hook shd be the (original) headline
-- which is some years older

much of the problem here is that i really REALLY freeeze up writing pitches as i never do writing the pieces themselves) and end up grabbling for comfort-hooks that then take over the piece

[koganbot]

So, start writing the piece and then select bits of the piece to be the pitch itself. Or start presenting your ideas to us on livejournal, and your brief presentations might well be pitchable.

Btw, my thumbnail explanation of why the left are such chumps about the charts is that the left have evolved into a cultural identity rather than just an analysis of and attempt to change society - not that being a cultural identity precludes doing analysis and changing society, but the unstated movement tends to towards embracing art, ideas, and actions because they are ours* rather than because the music, ideas, and actions are good - though of course the music is called good, and sometimes reasons are even given, and the reasons are usually terrible: the reasons tend to validate or criticize the music on the basis of whether we* approve of who makes it and how it was (supposedly) made and whom it was made for rather than on the basis of what the music actually is and does.

Of course, the whole culture, not just the left, tends to do just the same, and the nonleftist analyses tend to lean left anyway (surprisingly enough), just with the "politics" left out. And my critique of the "left" is pretty much in line with my critique in my book of academia and journalism (which could be a critique of several million other things):

(i) presentation of self - creating, maintaining, or modifying one's hairstyle, as it were - is a way of thinking, but (ii) given a choice between maintaining one's hairstyle and thinking about it, my profession as a whole will choose hairstyle over thought

*"our" and "us" not necessarily mean you and me and our buddies anymore, but there but for the grace of god go you, me, and my buddies, ya know? - and the postgrad liberal-left does tend to be our cultural neighborhood, if not our particular block.

[koganbot]

though of course the music is called good

And is often experienced as good, too, of course...